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Landing
Landing, also referred to as The Ancient Timers' Plateau, is the original settlement that the colonists of Pern established prior to their establishment of individual stakeholds in the Southern Continent. Abandoned and covered by ash following a massive volcanic eruption, it was rediscovered in the Ninth Pass and became a Minor Hold in the Southern Continent. Monaco Bay Weyr fights Threadfall over Landing. Landing does not have a Holder or Lord Holder to rule it; instead, the area is considered uncontested land in light of its historical significance. Description : A detailed description of the Hold, established, the surrounding countryside, the economy and the other (on the basis of the The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern) The Plateau was the site on which the shuttles landed. There is not much to find of Landing's original beauty in the present Pass, but it was once very handsome. Under the regular mounds preserved by the volcanic ash lie the hemispheric and half-cylindrical buildings that were set around squares instead of streets for a cozier neighborhood feel, not to mention more efficient use of space. It is clear from an aerial view that the mounds are not natural. Like the archaeologists who discovered the Incan and Mayan ruins buried deep in the Central American jungle, the curious Pernese investigators would not know where to look if they had not seen the site from above. The buildings were intended to be functional but not beautiful. The engineers put them up quickly from extruded silicon- and carbon-based plastics and galvanized metal. They are not unlike Quonset huts. The roofs are half-dome shaped for most efficient distribution of heat. When the earthquakes began, there was time to move out nearly all of the personal effects of those living in Landing. But some things were deliberately left behind, and were vacuum-sealed in the Catherine Caves all around the perimeter of the Plateau. One of the items that remained was the voice-activated computer, which was in a protected room in Landings main administration building. As the volcanic ash has preserved and protected it from time and dirt, it is very likely operational and needs only a voice to ask it questions — in the right language, of course. Minor Holds and Crafthalls * Benini Hold * Cardiff Hold (formerly Cardiff Stake) * Monaco Bay Hold (formerly Monaco Bay Stake, linked to Monaco Bay Weyr) * Sunrise Cliff Seahold Landing houses many crafts that arose following the discovery of AIVAS. It houses the Computercrafthall, the Techniciancrafthall, the Printercrafthall, the Papercrafthall, and possibly the Plasticcrafthall. A Hydro-Electric Power station exists somewhere up the Jordan River. Structure First Pass When first constructed, Landing consisted of living quarters, a communication tower, storage buildings, a meeting hall, science and medical labs, a Bonfire Square and animal breeding pens. The nearby Catherine Caves were also used for storage and, after the arrival of thread, as temporary living quarters. After the Administration square was built, the 'Administration Annex' was built to house AIVAS. After all the essential buildings had been built, a bonfire square was established. Every night someone new who had done something deserving of the privilege would light the bonfire. Upon arriving on Pern, everyone had their own living quarters in Landing; the first people to leave were the traveling folk, who didn't like life in an urban area and were eager to get out on the open road. The Connells had Canadian Square. Over the course of the next year, almost everyone had moved out to establish their stakeholds with fewer than 200 people living in Landing, until the eighth year after arriving, when thread first fell on the new colonists. * Administration: Paul Benden, Emily Boll, Cabot Francis Carter, Cherry Duff. * Staff: Zi Ongola, Pol Nietro, Bay Harkenon, Joel Lilienkamp, Basil Tomlinson… * Residents: more colonists. Ninth Pass For much of Pern's history, Landing was buried under ash and soil from a volcanic eruption. Dedicated excavation soon revealed Landing, and after the discovery of AIVAS, the area became reestablished. The Administration Annex served as a central location, not only housing AIVAS, but a number of classrooms, and a large room used for conferences. Living quarters were established around the annex. The area was powered by a rebuilt hydroelectric dam. Even after AIVAS's deactivation, Landing served as a place of learning and for the redevelopment of technology. * Administration after rediscovery: Master Harper Robinton, Weyrleader D'ram, Lord Warder Lytol. * Staff: Master Miner/Archives Esselin, Breide. * Residents: History Establishment Landing's location was one of three possible sites the colonists considered before landing on Pern. The site that became Landing was chosen due to its temperate climate and having neither too much nor too little vegetation. Landing was created by the original colonists of Pern after their arrival. Many of its buildings were built from materials salvaged from the abandoned colony ships. It was intended to be a temporary administrative and industrial center to establish infrastructure and communication for the residents, and some basic government. Emily Boll and Paul Benden were the leaders of Landing during the transition from space to stakehold. Threadfall After the first fall of thread, a majority of the population of Pern was relocated back to Landing, to provide a central place for administration and efforts to combat thread, as well as reducing the amount of land needing to be protected. In addition, the buildings at Landing were made of siliplastic, which is resistant to thread. It was at this point that Benden and Boll were re-elected leaders for the duration of the crisis. Landing was also the site of Kitti Ping's creation of Dragons. Volcanic Eruption and Abandonment Months after the first fall of thread, the dormant volcano Picchu, located above Landing, started to smoke, worrying the colony leaders. Evacuation plans were made should the volcano erupt. When a sudden change in the sulphur-to-chlorine ratio occured in Mt. Garben's peak, the colony was caught off-guard, Fortunately the quick and effective evacuation plan was put into play, and there was no loss of life. Prior to the eruption, when someone stated that it had been Picchu that was smoking, someone else replied that «That mountain Garben is as sly as the man we named it for», Garben being the man who had championed the Pernese colonization in the Federated Sentient Planets. It was decided after this event that the population of Landing should be relocated to the Northern Continent, leading to the establishment of Fort Hold. Eventually the entire Southern continent's population came north. Second Crossing. Due to the eruption, Landing would be covered in a thick layer of ash. An attempt to located Landing occurred during the First Interval, but was unsuccessful. Eventually, as records were lost or decayed, Landing disappeared from common knowledge, barring for some vague references in Harper teachings. Rediscovery During the Ninth Pass, various circumstances led to the rediscovery of the original habitation site. With the opening of the southern continent, and more and more people relocating south, various ancient sites were rediscovered. The crafthalls and weyrs, the Benden weyrleaders and the craftmasters of the Harper and Smithcraft halls in particular, took great strides to rediscover the lost secrets of their past. Masterharper Robinton along with his journeywoman, Menolly, were blown off course while sailing south, ending up in a remote and beautiful cove far to the east, where a prominent volcano was visible in the distance. Later occupants of the cove, including D'ram, Jaxom, Sharra and Piemur, also took notice of the volcano and felt drawn to it, partially due to the strong images of a human settlement sent to them by the local fire lizard population. Upon Jaxom's recovery from Fire-head Fever, he traveled to the mountain alongside his dragon Ruth, as well as Menolly, Piemur, and Sharra. The remains of Landing and the ship meadow were found under layers of soil. Word spread and a dedicated excavation was undertaken, which discovered a number of ancient buildings and ships. Eliminating Thread During the excavations of one mound, marked on the ancient map as the 'Administration Annex', Master Robinton, Master Fandarel, Jancis, and Piemur, discover AIVAS, the ancient artificial intelligence that had remained hidden since the original settlement of Pern. A meeting was called on sight, and it was decided to retain the area's original name of Landing. Landing was deemed uncontested land, in light of its historical significance, and was not placed under the control of a Lord Holder. When AIVAS revealed a plan to eliminate thread forever, Landing became a central location for the effort. Lessons to restore lost technology and knowledge were undertaken, and a school was established. After a series of problems, Robinton, D'ram, and Lytol would become administrators of the area. Landing served as the central location for the effort to eliminate Thread. After the plan's success, Landing remained as a place of learning and innovation, with advanced classes taking place. The computer banks at Landing, which linked to the Yokohama would be of vital importance during the later Fireball Flood, with the computers tracking the impact and the resultant flood. Appearances * Dragonsdawn * The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall * Dragonseye/''Red Star Rising'' * The Renegades of Pern * The White Dragon * All the Weyrs of Pern * The Dolphins of Pern * The Skies of Pern ru:Посадочная Площадка Category:Pern History Category:Stake Category:Jordan Province Category:Minor Hold Category:Southern Continent places Category:Landing